Manufacture of plugs for cigarettes



July 27, 1954 F, F, RUAU 2,684,614

MANUFACTURE OF' PLUGS FOR CIGARETTES QLLMU. fwaim ATTORNEYS F. F. RUAU MANUFACTURE OF PLUGS FOR CIGARETTES July 27, 19.54

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MANUFACTURE OF PLUGSFOR CIGARETTES Filed March 3, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet I5 Fig.

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MANUFACTURE OF PLUGS FOR CIGARETTES Filed March 3, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FLg.

69 68 f 94 58 79 96 @I 36 Z8 7 :6. 514 l 1 T-71" l F gh 8o 93 f Y 7759 l/ 2 /N VEN TOR mfw ATTORNEYS Patented July 27, 1954 MAN UFACTURE OF PLUGS FOR CIGARETTES Felix Frederic Ruau, Deptford, London, England, assignor to Molins Machine Company Limited, London, England, a British company Application March 3, 1952, Serial No. 274,523

Claims priority, application Great Britain March 16, 1951 Claims.

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to the manufacture of plugs for cigarettes, for example, mouthpieces for use in cigarettes at that end of the cigarette which is to be put in the mouth.

A known kind of cigarette plug consists of a number of superimposed layers of material (for example layers of creped paper, interleaved, if desired, with layers of cellulosic material) folded or bunched or otherwise compressed and suitably formed to the desired cross-section and enclosed in a paper wrapper. The material arranged in superimposed layers will for convenience be referred to herein as stock material. The compressed stock material has a certain amount of resiliency whereby it ts and is held securely within the paper wrapper of the plug.

Such plugs are sometimes made by cutting successive strips from the leading end of a broad web of stock material, and feeding the strips lengthwise end to end towards means which fold or otherwise deform them to a suitable crosssectional size and shape, whereafter they are enclosed in a paper wrapper to make a continuous plug rod. The rod is then cut at suitable intervals to produce plugs of desired length. Apparatus for making plugs by this system is disclosed in U. S. patent specification No. 2,145,528.

As each strip of stock material is cut from the web it is advanced lengthwise-that is, in a direction transverse to that in which the web is fedand the web is then fed forwardly a distance equal to the width of a strip and a further strip is cut off and fed lengthwise behind the preceding strip so that the two strips abut end to end.

It will be seen that where the ends of two strips adjoin, the continuity of the core of the plug rod is broken. The end of a strip of stock material is usually too uneven and rough to be suitable for the end of an individual mouthpiece, and therefore the plug rod is usually cut at such intervals that the adjoining ends of two folded strips of stock material are encolesd within one plug length which is of suitable length for an individual mouthpiece. I-Ieretofore in the manufacture of plugs as just described, it has been the practice to discard such lengths containing two short adjoining end portions of stock material, as they are likely to fall out of the wrapper and the plug length is thus considered unsuitable for use.

In British patent specification No. 623,939 there is disclosed a plug consisting of two short portions of stock material, which are bonded together by overlapping of one or more layers of the stock material in one portion with one or more layers in the other portion. Two figures of the drawing of said specification are repeated here and will be explained later.

The present invention is directed to a method of and means for making plugs in such a manner that strips of stock material are connected to each other as just described, so that in a plug length containing two end portions, the two portions are bonded together.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing plugs, comprising feeding a web of stock material, cutting successive strips from the leading end of the web and feeding said strips lengthwise in succession in a direction transverse to that in which the web is fed, wherein one or more layers of the uncut web of stock material is or are displaced sideways relatively to one or more other layers, so that each strip so cut has one or more layers offset lengthwise relatively to other layers in that strip, and wherein the strips are placed end to end in such manner that part of each oilset layer in each strip overlaps or underlies part of a layer in another strip.

The method may include separating a layer or layers from other layers in the web and guiding the layer or layers so separated so as to displace it or them sideways while the web is being fed forwardly.

Further according to the present invention there is provided apparatus for manufacturing plugs, comprising means to feed a web of stock material forwardly, cutting means arranged to cut successive strips from the leading end of said web, means to feed said strips lengthwise end to end in a direction transverse to that in which the web is fed, separating means to separate at least one layer of material in the uncut web from other layers, and guide means to guide the separate layer during forward movement of the web so as to displace it sideways whereby in each strip cut from the web a layer is oiset lengthwise relatively to other layers in the strip, means being provided to arrange the successive strips end to end in such manner that part of each oiset layer in each strip overlaps or underlies part of a layer in another strip.

The separating means may comprise a member (e. g. a rod) arranged across the path of the web so that one or more layers can be caused to pass over said member so as to be separated from the other layers in the web. The guide means may consist of an adjustable element having a guiding Figure 2A is an enlarged iraginent ci' ligure il. Figure 3 is a diagram or" the essential arts oi the plug making apparatus. 1f

Figure i is a section on the line i'i-Ll, Figure 3 showing only essential parts.

Figure 5 shows a long piece of plug suitable 4ior cutting to provide six individual plugs.

Figure 6 shows how layers are o` n ing the formation of the plug length s Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings the apparatus shown in Figures i and 2 forms part ci a inacl e is generally similar to the plugcnaki g rnacl described and illustratedL in S. `-yatent specie fication No. 2,145,523, portions oi' which shown in Figures 3 and A web i of st niaterial from which plugs are to be for 'led i feci intermittently iroin a reel tov.' c aing dei 30 vice diagrammatically indicated in Figure l by the reierence Ell@ which cuts strips iror leading end of the web, and each strip in turn gripped and carried length se, that is, transversely of the direction in which the web and delivered as explained in incre detail w Jh reference to Figures 3 and e on to a feed con-- veyor by which the strips are carried lengthwise end to end through mechanism which io and compresses the strips to cylindrical cross-section. 40

The web i of stock material illustrated conim prises three superimposed layers il and 5 oi crepe paper, interleaved wi n two ci ali-- sorbent cellulosic material. which may be followed irozn e though these illustrate a diri` the top layer 3 of crepe pal er the remaining layers d and i5 so fed forwardly the separated lay placed sideways oi the rest o to effect this separation a rod which c a separating means, is fixed across the pe web a short distance above the which the remainder the web suppe ted, so that the top layer of paper heut layer of cellulcsic rnateri can be passed over the separating rod while the rest oi web beneath. A collar il is adju-stably secured to the rod above the web at a suitable distance from one side of the edge oi the main bulk or" the web, has a guiding surface, that is, the inner side oi the collar which engages the edge oi the separated layer oi paper and guides it sideways. The arrangement is such that the separated layer is guided and thereby displaced in the direction in which the cut strips are ed lengthwise, so that when a strip is cut, its top layer is offset ior ly, considered in the direction in which the st is to be fed lengthwise.

A further collar 9 is provided t as a gui for the other edge oi the layer, so as to wandering of the layer. ln order to ensure the separated layer is guided in the desire path and does not ride up over one oi the collars, a further rod I3 is arranged iimediately 75 the separating rod so as to rest on the tops of the guide collars, which are recessed to receive it. The two rods are spaced a suiiicient distance apart to allow the separated layer oi paper to pass easily between them.

It will be seen that the separated layer is displaced by being into a path which is slight ly inclined to that or the rest of the web. Since the amount of displacement is small (i. e. 11 mm.) compared with the length oi web between the cutting device and the reel from which the web is fed, this inclination is very small, and as the crepe paper is creped or corrugated transversely of the length of the web it can stretch easily without risk oi breakage,

In the construction according to U. S. patent specication lilo. 2,145,528 the feeding of the web from the reel was eiiected by reciprocating iceding elements which intermittently engaged the web from above and pushed it forward. ln the present construction the same feeding elements "at are employed, being arranged to engage the web at a position in advance oi that at which the top sheet is separated and displaced. ln order to avoid tension in the web which might maire it incre difficult to rad displace the top layer, further feeding means provided whereby the reel 2 is rotated pcsitively in tinied relationship with the reciprocating feeding elements already mentioned. This feeding ineens consists oi a pair oi rubber covered rollers il pressed into contact ith tl e reel oi stock rnaterial by their weigl'it which is partly counterbalanced by a weight and rotated at a suitable speed, either contir iously or intermittently as may be desired. As shown, intermittent rotation is used. i sprocket wheel i3 is 'lined to the spindle oi' the rollers i and a chain l5 passing over the wheel i3 is intermittently driven 'oy a sprocket wheel 'ihe latter is moved by a ratchet lever il coupled by a link la to an oscillating lever lli, associated with the 'fading elements As the web is fed irorn trie reel and the diameter oi the reel is therefore redt-ced, ieeding rollers due to their weight remain in driving contact with the reel 2 and thus continue to rotate it at a constant peripheral speed.

For the salie or simplicity, in the description given above, arrangement was described in which only one sheet or .i crepe paper in the web oi stoel; material displaced. It is found, however, that better results are obtained if both the top the bottom layer of crepe paper displaced, the bottoni layer being displaced in opposite direction to that in which the tcp layer is displaced. The apparatus shown in Figures l and n is arranged to displace both top and bottom layers. For this purpose a iurther pair oi rods and 2i, the lower one il@ of which is provided with suitably arranged guide collars, is placed at a suitable level to receive the lowerraost layer ci paper between the two rods. The middle layer is also guided by a rod with collars but these are normally so disposed that there is no lateral displacement of the layer. Thus in this case all three layers of crepe paper are separated from each other and the top and bottom layers are displaced sideways in opposite directions. The result is that when strip is cut from the web, the top layer of the strip is oirset lengthwise in the direction oi feed oi the strips, while the bottom layer is ciiset in the opposite direction.

Separated layers are supported and kept apart by bars 22, the lowest layer 5 lying on the guide plate. This arrangement ensures that layers do not contact with one another, which would make it diiiicult to offset the layers. The lateral displacement of the layers is preserved by stepped guides 23 which are of channel-like cross-section so as to provide effective control for the layers, the edges of which lie in the channels.

Thus it will be seen that the layers at the leading end of one strip are arranged stepwise and can be mated with the correspondingly stepped layers at the rear end of the preceding strip, and thus the extending part of each offset layer in each strip overlaps part of a layer in an adjoining strip, without any increase in the number of layers at any point along the length of the joined strips.

The two layers of cellulosic material occur one between the top and middle layer of crepe paper and the other between the middle and bottom layer. `These layers of cellulosic material may both be aligned with the middle layer of crepe paper, or one with the top layer and the other with the bottom layer, as may be found most suitable and convenient.

The correct end-to-end arrangement of successive strips is effected by laying the stepped leading end of one strip on the stepped rear end of the preceding strip, and this can be done by the gripping and feeding mechanism described in U. S. patent specification No. 2,145,528 without any substantial modification.

For simplicity the essential elements, of said mechanism, so far as cutting and lengthwise feeding of the strips are concerned, are illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, and will now be described.

The web I is pushed forwards by the feeding elements 28 over a knife 34 which is sprung but otherwise may be regarded as fixed and a reciprocating 'knife 36 cuts oiT a strip at each feed movement. The leading end of the web is supported on a plate 46 which is resiliently mounted and is depressed by the cutting action and then rises again. Just before a strip is cut it is gripped by a gripper consisting of an upper member 58 and a lower spring member 59. Both members are attached to an arm 60 mounted on a shaft 6I which is rocked as indicated by the arrow to move the gripper to and fro substantially horizontally. A pin I'E52 can be depressed to open the gripper by pressing down the spring member by means of roller 68 on an oscillating arm 69. When a strip is cut from the web it is gripped and pulled to the left (Figure 4) until its leading edge touches the side 'IE of a trough TI. Further leftward movement of the gripper causes the strip to be withdrawn therefrom since the strip is held by the part 16. The released strip then falls into the trough 'I1 Where it is engaged by a presser 'I8 supported on an arm 'I9 xed to a shaft 8@ which is rocked as shown so that the presser is raised and lowered. 'Ihe strip is next engaged by a conveyor which moves it lengthwise of the trough. The conveyor comprises a slider 88 which is reciprocated along a bar 89 and has a rib 8l which engages the lower face of the strip. (Io-operating with the rib 8l is a part 92 pivoted at 93 to the slider 88. The part 92 carries a roller 94 which runs on a cam face 96 formed on the top of the presser 18. Thus the co-operating parts 31 and 92 form a gripper conveyor which can be opened and closed at times to grip and release strips. In this way cut strips are fed lengthwise and the desired overlapping relationship is secured by suitable timing of the apparatus. The strips are delivered to a feed conveyor |04 shown in Figure 3.

The feed conveyor IM consists of an endless band and in co-operation with a roller IUS feeds the strip lengthwise. Other rollers I 95, II2 and IIS together with guides IGT and III) and a tongue I il and guides H4 shape the strip into substantially cylindrical cross-section all as described in detail in said specification and the rod-like result is fed on to a paper web H6 carried by an endless belt I I 8 through the usual devices of a continuous rod cigarette machine to produce a wrapped rod which is cut into pieces like those shown in Figure 5.

When the end-to-end strips are folded and formed to plug cross-section, and enclosed and secured in a paper wrapper, the resulting plug rod will be seen to consist of a number of strips which are eectively joined or bonded together by reason of the arrangement described. As shown diagrammatically in Figure 5, one layer of the web has been overlapped to secure the type of join shown near the middle of the gure. The piece of rod shown is the length cut from the continuous rod on the plug making machine and such pieces are fed to machines where cigarettes provided with plugs are made. The length A is sub-divided in the feeding apparatus of such machines into three equal lengths B. Each such length will furnish a plug for two cigarettes and in the manufacture, a length B is subdivided to produce two individual plugs of length C. Figure 6 shows the nature of the overlap more clearly, the view representing overlapping of the layers while they are still in the iiat form. The plain spaces separating the layers are intended to represent interleaved cellulose. The various layers are preferably displaced or offset a distance equal to the length (e. g. 1l mm.) of the individual mouthpiece plug which is eventually to be produced, and thus it is possible to arrange for the rod to be cut midway between the positions at which joins occur in two different layers. Thus in the example just described, where both the top and bottom layers of the web are displaced in opposite directions, it is possible to produce, for every strip of stock material, three individual mouthpiece plugs in each of which the continuity of only a single layer is broken. Such plugs are found to be quite satisfactory for use as cigarette mouthpieces and thus wastage of stock material by rejection of plugs in which joins occur can be avoided.

In the arrangement described above, the stock material intended to be used consists of three sheets of crepe paper interleaved with two sheets of cellulosic material. It will be understood that any desired numbers of sheets of paper or any other suitable material can be used in accordance with the invention, and that any desired number of the sheets or layers comprising the stock material can be displaced by suitable arrangement of the apparatus. For example, if four layers of material are used, and it is desired that each layer should be displaced relatively to its neighbouring layer or layers, four sets of separating rods, each provided with a pair of suitably positioned guide collars, could be provided to effect this. A fourth rod 25 is shown in Figures 'l and 2 to enable four layer webs to be handled in the apparatus. In that case, for each strip of stock material four individual mouthpiece plugs would be produced in each of which the continuity ofV only a single layer is broke-n.

I claim:

1. A method of manufacturing plugs, comprising the steps of displacing at least one layer ei a multi-ply web of separable layers oi" mater" l, sideways relatively to at least one other l y of said web, feeding the web forwardly, from the leading end of the web sueeessive st i each of which has at least one layer oiset len *1- vfise relatively to at least one other in ne strip, displacing the successive ent st laterally or the direetion of movement of and placing the said strips end to end i manner that part or" an olset eas overlaps or underlies part of a laye; in a strip.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1. wherein at least one layer is separated 'from the web isplaced sideways While the web is being forwardly.

3. Apparatus for manuiaoturing plugs, comn prising means to feed forwardly a 'i-ply web o1 separable layers of material, separating means to separate at least one layer or" material e uncut web from at least one other lay o" grade means to guide the separated layer du i Ward movement of the web so as to displace it sideways, cutting means to out from the leading end of the web successive strips in oi which at least one layer is onset lengthwise relatively to at least one other layer in tlie strip, means to move said sueoessive strips lengthwise in 8 direction transverse to that in which the web' is fed, and means to coordinate the feeding or" the web and the lengthwise movement or" the suoeessive strips so as to cause each said strip to se so placed in, end-to-end lapped relationship with infime-o1 ely preceding strip that at least one layer of one of said strips partly overlaps t one layer of the other of said strips.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the separating means comprises a member arranged across the path of the web so that at least one layer can he caused to pass over said member so as to ne separated from the other layers of the web.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim i wherein the guide means consists of an adjustable element having a guiding surface and arranged to be positioned at one side of the web so that its guiding surface engages the edge of a separated layer of material and so deflects and guides the layer sideways of the normal path of the web.

References Cited in the file oi this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,988,805 Molins Jan. 22, 1935 2,013,036 Balzer Sept. 3, 1935 2,145,528 Ruau Jan. 3l, 1939 FORETGN PATENTS Nei; ser Country Date 623,939 Great Britain May 25, 1949 

